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Nasrallah vows campaign to force gov't change
Today's Headlines
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
OJ Simpson: I'm Innocent! But If I Did It.....
It's nice to see that he's taking time off from playing golf to honor the memory of his children's mother in such a sensitive, caring way....
Fox plans to broadcast an interview with O.J. Simpson in which the former football star discusses "how he would have committed" the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, for which he was acquitted, the network said.

The two-part interview, titled "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," will air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, the TV network said.

Simpson has agreed to an "unrestricted" interview with book publisher Judith Regan, Fox said. "O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes," the network said in a statement. "In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade."

The interview will air days before Simpson's new book, "How I Got Away With It: Thank You, Johnnie Cochran!" "If I Did It," goes on sale Nov. 30. The book, published by Regan, "hypothetically describes how the murders would have been committed."
Lovely. Just in time for the Christmas shopping season. Put it on your list now.
In a video clip on the network's Web site, an off-screen interviewer says to Simpson, "You wrote 'I have never seen so much blood in my life.'"

"I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood," Simpson responds.

Simpson, who now lives in Florida, was acquitted in a criminal trial of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was later found liable in 1997 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.

Messages left with Simpson and his attorney Yale Galanter were not immediately returned.
Cue up the music for "He Had It Comin'" from "Chicago"....
Posted by: Swamp Blondie || 11/15/2006 06:43 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dem ugly ass shoes? Wouldn't have wore dem again...
He wants to confess so bad he can taste it.
Posted by: Da Juice || 11/15/2006 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Unless I miss my guess, the money he'll make from the show and book will go to the victims' families, toward their civil suit award against him... right?

That said, it doesn't get much more tasteless and craven than this, IMO.

/Yes, I live a Sheltered Life in Sin City
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 8:50 Comments || Top||

#3  I just do not understand why it is someone hasn't popped him by now. He should have had an accident, or choked on a pork rib by now.

Posted by: Mick Dundee || 11/15/2006 9:21 Comments || Top||

#4  In all fairness, gentlemen, the wookie did not fit. They had to acquit.
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/15/2006 10:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Nope, Excalibur. If you acquit, you're full of sh!t.....
Posted by: Swamp Blondie || 11/15/2006 11:43 Comments || Top||

#6  ..An interesting thought from Mark Evanier (http://www.newsfromme.com/)

"...Of course, this is being logical and very little about this case has ever been logical. Simpson could be so punchy and reckless by now, he might not be operating with an ounce of sense or even consistency in his guilty noggin. That recent "hidden camera" show he did suggests a man who doesn't know what he's doing...or maybe doesn't care. But he does have that huge judgment hanging over his head, and Fred Goldman has stated several times that he would waive it if Simpson would just confess. O.J. stands to make something like 3.5 million for the interview and book, and that's a pretty big invitation for the Goldmans to haul his murdering ass back into court to try and claim that money. To confess without confessing — assuming he doesn't go the route described above and turn the "confession" into an argument for innocence — doesn't make a lot of sense just from that standpoint. To confess for real might enable him to keep that 3.5 mil, or at least to put Fred Goldman on the defensive if he goes after the money. ("Hey, the guy promised to drop that if I confessed and I've confessed.")..."

Ther's another point brought up there that no one seems to have caught:

"...A lot of people are expecting this to be a confession in which Simpson will explain how he did it but without explicitly admitted that he did it. I don't know why they assume this. He could well "tell all"...but he could also decide to make the explanation of how he killed those two people too complex and full of things that could not have happened. In other words, this could be an attempt to argue his innocence by saying, in effect, "Look...even if I tried to confess, the confession doesn't fit with the known facts..."

Given the distinct possibility that the facts may have been so badly botched as to have kept OJ well clear of a 'guity' verdict in the first place, he might well be able to convincingly confess and his details NOT match what the LAPD came up with.

Mike



Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/15/2006 14:16 Comments || Top||

#7  Various sources over the years had claim that NJICOLE's family hasn't gotten anything from Simpson despite the civil verdict. Iff true, this is becuz OJ, despite the later civil verdict, was found NOT GUILTY OF MURDER ERGO OJ DOES NOT HAVE TO PAYOUT FOR A CRIME HE IS, BY DEFINITION, NOT GUILTY NOR RESPONSIBLE FOR. IOW, the Browns only get what $$$ 's OJ + his Attys voluntarily or by MUTUAL CONSENT want to give them. WHATEVER OJ MAKES FROM THIS SHOW, HOWEVER DISTASTEFUL, IS HIS OWN PROFIT/REVENUE TO WHICH OJ TECHNICALLY DOES NOT HAVE TO SHARE WITH ANYONE, UNLESS HE CHOOSES TO. "Judgement" is just Hollyweird = Urban Myth hype > wouldn't surprise me at all iff he's doing this show only for Hollyweird/MSM-specific celebrity politix + keep his name high-profile in the medias. UNLESS I'M SOMETHING WRONG, SHORT OF A NEW COURT BATTLE ANDOR A PUBLIC OJ CONFESSION, THE BROWNS WILL CONTINUE TO GET LITTLE TO NUTHING FROM OJ.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 22:35 Comments || Top||

#8  Various sources over the years had claim that NJICOLE's family hasn't gotten anything from Simpson despite the civil verdict. Iff true, this is becuz OJ, despite the later civil verdict, was found NOT GUILTY OF MURDER ERGO OJ DOES NOT HAVE TO PAYOUT FOR A CRIME HE IS, BY DEFINITION, NOT GUILTY NOR RESPONSIBLE FOR. IOW, the Browns only get what $$$ 's OJ + his Attys voluntarily or by MUTUAL CONSENT want to give them. WHATEVER OJ MAKES FROM THIS SHOW, HOWEVER DISTASTEFUL, IS HIS OWN PROFIT/REVENUE TO WHICH OJ TECHNICALLY DOES NOT HAVE TO SHARE WITH ANYONE, UNLESS HE CHOOSES TO. "Judgement" is just Hollyweird = Urban Myth hype > wouldn't surprise me at all iff he's doing this show only for Hollyweird/MSM-specific celebrity politix + keep his name high-profile in the medias. UNLESS I'M READING SOMETHING WRONG, SHORT OF A NEW COURT BATTLE ANDOR A PUBLIC OJ CONFESSION TO NICOLE'S MURDER, THE BROWNS WILL CONTINUE TO GET LITTLE TO NUTHING FROM OJ.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 22:36 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Chocoholics rejoice! More benefits found in heart study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- They were so addicted, they just could not give up their favorite daily snack -- not even in the interest of science.

But chocolate lovers who flunked out of a Johns Hopkins University study on aspirin and heart disease helped researchers stumble on an explanation of why a little chocolate a day can cut the risk of heart attack.

It turns out chocolate, like aspirin, affects the platelets that cause blood to clot, Diane Becker of the Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and her colleagues discovered.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So, chocolate and depression may have made me fat and unfit, but at least, my heart is working fine, is that correct? Good, so there's no reason for me to change.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/15/2006 11:25 Comments || Top||

#2  "It went all the way from from a chocolate chip cookie to someone who ate a gallon of chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks and two chocolate-chip cookies at one sitting."

That was me!
Posted by: Jesing Ebbease3087 || 11/15/2006 15:25 Comments || Top||

#3  YESSSS!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Weird Al || 11/15/2006 19:24 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Botswanan columnist : Jacob Zuma must distribute White women among Black men!
HT African crisis.

A Botswana newspaper columnist who has backed Jacob Zuma to become president so he could "distribute white women" among his supporters has outraged some people who have branded the column as "sexist", "racist" and "hate speech".

The offending column under the heading "President Zuma will sort out White People" was published in the Sunday Standard in Gaborone.

Loose Canon said Zuma as president would address the wrongs of the past.

He berated white people for complaining about their loss of privilege, affirmative action and crime and said "they should count themselves lucky they were not shot on the day of liberation. Perhaps it's not too late to hang a few whites... just to remind them who is in charge".

He dismissed the corruption charges against Zuma as the result of "some jealous blacks and their white friends".

"The people love Jacob Zuma... but, as part of sorting out ungrateful white people, I want him to embark on a redistribution exercise. I want him to distribute white women among the long-suffering black chaps.

"Zuma can have one or two white women himself and then distribute the rest 'to his loyal supporters' - including Loose Canon himself," he wrote.

Despite trying to contact the editor of the Sunday Standard, Outsa Mokone, for comment, no reply had been received at the time of going to press.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/15/2006 06:05 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When Zuma gets in (and he will), he'll make Zimbob look benevolent. South Africa will be lost and the West will say nothing, at all nothing.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/15/2006 7:09 Comments || Top||

#2  words fail.
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 7:40 Comments || Top||

#3  Hey where da white wimmen at?
n will dey do my plantin?
Posted by: Farmin B. Hard || 11/15/2006 8:48 Comments || Top||

#4  "Loose Canon"? Riiight.

If that column wasn't intended as a "Modest Proposal"-style satire from an opponent of Zuma's, I'll eat my pith helmet.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 11/15/2006 8:50 Comments || Top||

#5  Boputhuswana is far away
But we know it's in South Africa no matter what they say
You can't buy me I don't care what you pay
Don't ask me Sun City because I ain't gonna play

I ain't gonna play Sun City
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/15/2006 10:08 Comments || Top||

#6  I am beginning to think the reason feminists and progressives never say a word about this sort of thing - the billion strong Muslim rape-cult gets a free pass - is because of a deep-seated erotic charge they get from submission. They are going to get their wish. With the gimps in charge in Congress it looks like Western Civilization is going to get fcked.
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/15/2006 10:13 Comments || Top||

#7  Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Except a little meaner and a little more corrupt. It's not like we haven't heard that song before.

Ever stop to ponder how fortunate we are that the American Revolution actually worked and did not devolve into a revolving door of corrupt, murderous dictators like so many People's Revolutions do? George Washington could have been King if he wanted to. Or President For Life, to use the modern vernacular. America, *bleep* yeah!
Posted by: SteveS || 11/15/2006 10:36 Comments || Top||

#8  I am beginning to think the reason feminists and progressives never say a word about this sort of thing

Because they were never about women in the first place. Ok maybe some of them were, like lopt and others who fought battles more, in my opinion by their actions than their words. But the leaders were never about women they were about empowering themselves.
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 12:23 Comments || Top||

#9  Feminism, like all leftist ideologies is founded on a contradiction.

Feminism isn't about women. It's about men.

Without men, feminists wouldn't exist; without men feminism itself wouldn't exist. Feminists know this all too well but the basic contradiction in their ideology disallows such an acknowledgement. Feminism itself would cease to exist were they to acknowledge it.

Feminists degrade men, call some remarks sexist, without revealing their very ideology is based on female genitalia, upon the very sexism they decry.

That is why feminists can be reliably silent in the face of an activity which clearly runs counter to their own interests, or even to their very survival. It's a contradiction, the same as their corrupt and degenerate ideology.
Posted by: badanov || 11/15/2006 13:08 Comments || Top||

#10  It's interesting to analyze the subtext of virtually all sit-coms and advertising on American TV these days.

It's impossible not to notice that all women are celebrated as strong, independant, smart, sexy, and deserving their natural right of near-worship as virtual goddesses. The vast majority of Black men are confident, handsome, strong and successful. On the other hand nearly all White men are portrayed as pathetic, dumb, easily manipulated submissive losers.

I don't know where this is all headed, but I know I don't like it.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 11/15/2006 16:29 Comments || Top||

#11  GLENN BECK > Radical Islmaists are living in the 12th Century > wanna redo the Muslim Conquests.
HHHHMMMMMMM, SECULAR SOCIALIST-ATHEIST vs RADICAL ISLAMIST [GOD-BASED SOCIALIST], now comes vs RADICAL AFRICANIST/PAGANIST-NATURALIST [NATURE/RACE-BASED SOCIALIST??? PRIMITIVIST
??? TOTALITARIANIST???].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 22:11 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Britons at Al-Jazeera TV station rapped for 'drinking binges'
British staff working for the new English language Al-Jazeera channel drank so much alcohol that they were ordered to undergo special "cultural awareness" training on how to behave in a Muslim country.

Presenters and producers hired on massive taxfree salaries to launch Al-Jazeera International (AJI) were lectured by Islamic groups on " appropriate behaviour" after a series of marathon drinking sessions in Qatar, where the new service is based.

The channel's owner, the Emir of Qatar, is understood to have personally ordered the move.

AJI has signed up broadcasters including Sir David Frost, Rageh Omaar and Darren Jordon, to help attract a worldwide audience.

It is not known whether any of the more famous presenters had been singled out as being involved in the boozing.

Sources based at Al-Jazeera's Doha headquarters say that a clash of cultures is causing a damaging rift between the largely-Muslim workforce on the Arabic service and the predominantly-British recruits to AJI.

A source said: "There are people who have come over to Doha to work for Al-Jazeera and they do not understand and respect the customs of living in a Muslim country. While the launch was being delayed they would just spend their time getting drunk in the hotel bars. They were drinking too much and behaving inappropriately, so they were put on cultural awareness courses.

"There were Islamic groups lecturing them on how to behave in a Muslim country - it was embarrassing for the whole network." AJI, which launches tomorrow, is the English language version of the Arabic channel which made its name broadcasting footage released by al Qaeda, including videos of Osama Bin Laden and 7/7 bomber Shehzad Tanweer.

The 24-hour news channel is the world's first English news channel to have its headquarters in the Middle East. The Emir of Qatar has bold ambitions for the new service which he hopes will challenge the traditional networks.

But AJI has already faced accusations of "selling its soul" to the West.

A growing list of critics including former employees, Right and Leftwing bloggers and Muslim commentators, have all predicted a disastrous future for the fledgling channel as it attempts to crossover into the mainstream. The Arabic channel controversially refers to Palestinian suicide bombers as "shaheeds" (martyrs) and has been accused by the Bush administration of being an Islamist propaganda tool.

Yvonne Ridley, political editor of the Islam Channel and former Al-Jazeera employee, said: "Al-Jazeera led the way 10 years ago with its heroic style of journalism reporting without fear or favour.

"This brand of journalism cost some of their staff their lives but if the English version opts for a more glamorous approach, then I know that viewers will switch off."

Sir David will launch his new programme Frost Around The World On Friday with an interview with Tony Blair.

Posted by: DoDo || 11/15/2006 12:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  By all means hang the lot of them. England will no longer dispense with traitors so they might as well be done for drinking in Qatar.
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/15/2006 13:36 Comments || Top||

#2  A source said: "There are people who have come over to Doha to work for Al-Jazeera and they do not understand and respect the customs of living in a Muslim country

But if the reciprocate is asked, it's racism/islamophobia, of course.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/15/2006 16:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Don't like the foreigners' culture ? Put your own camels, complete with tablecloths, out in front. See how many viewers you get.
Posted by: SpecOp35 || 11/15/2006 16:24 Comments || Top||

#4  E: By all means hang the lot of them. England will no longer dispense with traitors so they might as well be done for drinking in Qatar.

Don't be too hard on them. If you were reduced to working in Qatar for a living, you'd take to drink, too.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 11/15/2006 19:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Well if you're an infidel and you're working for Al-Jizz, you gotta figure your career just about has a fork in it. So I say drink up shriners...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/15/2006 20:27 Comments || Top||

#6  But that's what moneyed foreigners do in that part of the world (ok, maybe not our dear .com, but Mr. Wife told me everyone he knew over there had a very large private stash). And Britons binge drink wherever they are, it's a key part of the culture that we got from them. If Al Jazeera didn't want drunken revels, they shouldn't have hired plummy-accented Brits.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/15/2006 22:38 Comments || Top||


Britain
Brigadier John Platt
Yet another interesting WW2 Obit in the Telegraph:
Brigadier John Platt, who has died aged 101, won a DSO in 1944 in one of the fiercest battles of the Italian campaign.

As a lieutenant-colonel, Platt was in command of the 2nd Battalion Somerset Light Infantry (2 SLI) at the forced crossing of the River Garigliano on May 11 1944. The assault battalion, just ahead of them, was late into the water, and as a result 2 SLI was held up near the bank and came under concentrated fire.

Since the original crossing place had been identified by the Germans, Platt reconnoitred an alternative, again under heavy fire, and personally launched the majority of his battalion over the river. He established two companies on the far bank, where they were held up by strong enemy forces.

Platt crossed the river, and was about to organise a further advance when he was hit by fragments from a mortar bomb (known as a Moaning Minnie from the noise it made) and wounded twice. Despite his injuries he crossed the river again at first light to reconnoitre a means of getting the remainder of his battalion on to their objectives.

While he was visiting his forward companies Platt was again severely wounded. He lay on the far bank for 30 hours, as the battle raged around him, before he could be evacuated.

The citation for his DSO stated: "This officer showed the highest sense of duty, magnificent leadership under most difficult conditions, great gallantry in carrying on with his job when wounded, and complete disregard for anything except the job that was to be done."

John Rowley Innes Platt was born at Wylam, Northumberland, on June 17 1905. His great-grandfather had fought at Waterloo, and his father commanded 2 SLI from 1906 to 1915. After attending Wellington and RMC Sandhurst, in 1925 John was commissioned into the SLI and served with the 1st Battalion in Egypt, Hong Kong and India.

In India Platt made a name shooting tigers, especially in the Madras district, where they were preying on villagers and their cattle Sounds like we could have used him in Tucson. An all-round field sportsman and a fine horseman, he hunted with both the Ootacamund and the Quetta Foxhounds. Leave it to the the English to have famous packs of hounds in Quetta. Not such a nice place anymore and fox hunting is illegal in the mother country. He then went to Staff College, Quetta, before moving to the Army Gas School as brigade major. Hope the Gas School is closed now. On the outbreak of the Second World War he was in France as a junior staff officer at 1st Corps.

He published, in 1972, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry 1907-1967 and, in 1989, Three Hundred Years of Foxhunting in South and West Wiltshire.
Posted by: JAB || 11/15/2006 21:18 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  FOXHUNTING was a major way for civilian Gentlemen - read, Commissioned Officers present + future - to maintain the skills and elite prestige of the [obsolescent]Horse Cavalry. Not unlike the Navy's dedication to big-gun Battleships/Dreadnoughts versus the Airplane-Aircraft Carrier, for the Army the Horse Cavalry had 00's = 000's of years of PROVEN land warfare tradition behind it.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 21:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Interesting, JosephM. It never would have occurred to me.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/15/2006 22:40 Comments || Top||


Europe
EU to cap airline CO2 emissions from 2011
Posted on the off-chance that Europe still matters.
BRUSSELS - The European Union will require all airlines flying in its territory to monitor their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from 2010 and to join the bloc’s emissions trading scheme in 2011, the EU executive is proposing.
The nameless, faceless executive can propose this secure in the knowledge that the people of the EU have absolutely no say in how their continent is run.
The European Commission proposal, a draft of which was seen by Reuters on Tuesday, said a cap would be set on the number of pollution permits issued to airlines based on average 2004-2006 aviation emissions. That cap would come into effect in 2011, it said. ‘From 2011 emissions from the aviation sector will be subject to a cap and aircraft operators will be required to surrender allowances to cover their emissions,’ the draft said.
Thus paying a tax that the 'executive' doesn't care to levy directly.
The EU’s current scheme -- its key tool to battle global warming and meet emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol -- puts a limit on the amount of CO2 big polluters such as power plants and oil refineries can emit. But it excludes airlines -- also major polluters.

The Commission’s proposals would include all international flights landing in and departing from the EU as well as all domestic flights, the draft said. Military flights and planes that seat fewer than 20 people or weigh less than 20,000 kg at take-off would be excluded. Airlines would be able to buy permits from other sectors and make use of other trading mechanisms available under the Kyoto Protocol, which does not cover international aviation.

It said legislation currently being drafted by the Commission on airport charges would likely address airline emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX). But it said if such measures did not end up being adopted, airlines could be required to submit extra CO2 allowances to make up for their NOX pollution.
Because they wouldn't want an airline to wiggle away without paying the jizya tax.
The United States has opposed EU plans to add aviation to the system.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Scam Orgs are nothing without a Big Pot O' Money. Just firming up another funding source.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  FRANCE reportedly wants to bring back the fast but gas-guzzling CONCORDE, including designs for bigger + faster; while Britain = AIRBUS is still having teething probs wid its new super-passenger, over-sized, concrete/paveport-hating, ADMITTEDLY ALSO GAS-GUZZLING, DESIGNS. Meanwhile, the Russians wanna higher-than-25% tsake in AIRBUS, prob to make certain that few iff anyone will buy their planes as oppos to ANTONOVS + ILYUSHINS. etc. In about = less than 5 yarns, the EU wants Americans to believe it will cap CO2 emissions by suppor myriad Euro-designed gas guzzlers???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 1:52 Comments || Top||

#3  It's probably to make it harder to flee the economic collapse.

If the U.K. hasn't left the EUSSR by 2010 I'm emigrating.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 11/15/2006 5:57 Comments || Top||

#4  In related news, walking is good for the environment. Enjoy your locally grown pineapples, EUtards!
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/15/2006 10:21 Comments || Top||

#5  Rather than powering our planes with dead-white-male technology, we should turn to something green and eco-friendly. Like Diet Coke and Mentos.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/15/2006 10:24 Comments || Top||

#6  CogDis!

I was walking through my Diet Coke orchards just this morning and...
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We are now at our midway point over the Atlantic are now out of fuel in order to comply with EU CO2 emission standards.We will now attempt to glide to our destination. But don't worry. We usually make it.
So sit back, enjoy the flight, and remember it's for the children...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/15/2006 10:49 Comments || Top||

#8  A little short on credits again, I see, lol.

I was wondering about that, too, tu (heh). Would they cut flights short if they overdrew their carbon account?

The mind simply reels at the dishonesty and futility of the EU bureaucracy.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:54 Comments || Top||

#9  Well, the A380 will be a big help, since it will be putting out 0.0 tons.
Posted by: Jackal || 11/15/2006 11:12 Comments || Top||

#10  See America First. I hear Australia and Thailand are lovely places to visit.
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 11:14 Comments || Top||

#11  One replacement for fossil fuels is piganol - the pork-based renewable fuel source as described here.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/15/2006 16:08 Comments || Top||

#12  @011? 2010? That must be when everybody finally bails out of their Airbus agreements. No flying. No smoke!
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 11/15/2006 20:35 Comments || Top||

#13  That's supposed tobe 2011, not @011. Cain't even pr00frede my own copy.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 11/15/2006 20:36 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Downie Announces Major Shifts at 'Wash Post'
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How about starting with: dropping the all bias bias in your reporting. Especially the excessive liberal bias that has you supressing some news and inaccurately reporting other news. And provide balance on the editorial board.

Do that and commit to "fair and open" reporting, and you'll get a lot of new readers like me who long ago gave up on your fishwrapper.
Posted by: OldSpook || 11/15/2006 1:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Bullseye, every word. Well said, OS.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 1:33 Comments || Top||

#3  This includes a plan to "shrink" the newsroom. "tightening up the paper's news hole," cracking down on story length and moving reporters and editors "within and among staffs." The Post is now suffering from regular circulation declines.

yada, yada, yada. Lots of you will lose your jobs now that the election is over and foreign money is drying up. If you don't prepare for that, don't say I didn't warn you.
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 7:35 Comments || Top||

#4  “…what our readers need to know about the world...Visual journalism will be given still more importance in the printed paper…the opportunity to transform journalism for a new era”

If you read between the lines, Downies “transformation” appears clear. First, Cut staff and save dough. Next, increase the amount of stories that require less background and can place more emphasis on “conflict”. Finally accent shorter length articles with eye catching graphics to attract those less inclined to actually digest what they read. It’s called “Info-tainment” Bayybeee!
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/15/2006 10:48 Comments || Top||

#5  But he will have to hire some Photoshop guys, heh.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:50 Comments || Top||

#6  Nah, they'll just offshore that to the middle east. As a matter of fact I think they already are.
Posted by: OldSpook || 11/15/2006 18:39 Comments || Top||

#7  The problem is, USA Today already owns that market.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/15/2006 18:55 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Pelosi pulls out the stops for Murtha
Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is imploring her colleagues to support Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) for majority leader, multiple House Democrats said yesterday, dealing an unexpected but not necessarily fatal blow to Murtha’s opponent, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

It had been unclear until yesterday whether Pelosi would use her clout to turn votes to Murtha. She endorsed him in a letter Sunday, but some dismissed it as a nod to personal loyalty rather than a statement of her intentions.

But by yesterday, her intent was clear, several lawmakers said; she hopes to oust her onetime rival Hoyer from the leadership.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/15/2006 13:48 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  “She will have a tremendous road to hoe to repair the damage she’s done.”

I thought, generally, one hoed rows, as in farmin' be hard.

I got two words for ya Nance: Secret ballot.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/15/2006 14:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Ein volk, ein Reich, ein Pelosi!
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/15/2006 15:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Things are getting a bit hairy in the dhimmicrat camp...
Posted by: twobyfour || 11/15/2006 15:20 Comments || Top||

#4  I thought, generally, one hoed rows, as in farmin' be hard.

Yeah. Something tells me the only farm that "member" has ever been on grew rope.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 11/15/2006 15:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Now I REALLY want to see what would happen if the GOP caucus all voted for Steny Hoyer for Speaker as opposed to one of their own.
Posted by: eLarson || 11/15/2006 15:41 Comments || Top||

#6  “To be honest, I was waiting for the Speaker,” Walz said. “When the Speaker speaks, you listen. I take that into heavy consideration.”

Damn! It must be difficult to articulate a thought when you have your tongue up some ones ass.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/15/2006 15:45 Comments || Top||

#7  OT sorta......


Arrrrrrrggggghhh Matey!!! That's a fine lookin' set of cross bones, ayyyy!!
Posted by: AlanC || 11/15/2006 15:50 Comments || Top||

#8  25 years ago, Tip O'Neill pulled out all the stops to save Murtha's butt from Abscam.

Now this.

Maybe its just the Youngstowner in me, but it sure seems like Murtha has a Cousin Guido. A very large, very intimidating Cousin Guido who breaks kneecaps.
Posted by: Mike || 11/15/2006 16:04 Comments || Top||

#9  I hope Murtha gets the job. It's time the country saw what these people really intend to do with power.
Posted by: DoDo || 11/15/2006 18:51 Comments || Top||


Chuck Says He'll Veto the Next Alito
More than the inability to influence Iraq policy or the President’s tax cuts, Chuck Schumer says that the single greatest failure of the Democrats as an opposition party was allowing Samuel Alito to join the Supreme Court. “Judges are the most important,” said Mr. Schumer, who orchestrated the implausible Democratic takeover of the Senate last week. “One more justice would have made it a 5-4 conservative, hard-right majority for a long time. That won’t happen.”

From now on, all the President’s judicial appointments will need to meet the requirements of Mr. Schumer, the Park Slope power broker who has happily accepted the mantle of chief architect for the Democrats’ effort to build a majority for the 2008 elections and beyond.

The Senator also intends, in the coming months, to rework the federal government’s funding priorities in New York’s favor, to steer the Democrats toward a radically new position on Iraq and, while he’s at it, to cement his position as the unofficially declared tactical guru for the national party.

And in case anyone’s wondering, yes, Mr. Schumer is entirely comfortable with this sort of power. With his Gold Toe–stockinged feet dangling, the 55-year-old slumped in his armchair on Friday morning as if it were a leather throne. On his apartment’s front door, a neighbor taped up a front page of The New York Times heralding the Democrats’ success and scrawled “Congratulations Schumers!” across the cover.

The candidates that Mr. Schumer recruited, groomed and bankrolled had won a comprehensive victory over the incumbent Republicans, giving the Democrats a narrow majority in the Senate to complement a rout in the House. Since the election, Mr. Schumer has been awash in attention from the media, his Democratic colleagues and even from the President, who called, quite sportingly, soon after the results were finalized.
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 07:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is it wrong to wish he'd slip and fall down a staircase?
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 7:49 Comments || Top||

#2  not if he cracks his head open and winds up brain ded.
Posted by: RD || 11/15/2006 7:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh, no. That should could be arranged.

Noble, it is. Yes.
/Yoda
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 8:07 Comments || Top||

#4  more likely, in his rush to a TV camera, a slip and fall. Hubris-pig he is, fascinated by his own image. Leather throne indeed
Posted by: Frank G || 11/15/2006 8:36 Comments || Top||

#5  I prefer Chuck on the tube 24/7. Give him free rein to speak his mind on any subject that suits his fancy.
Posted by: mrp || 11/15/2006 8:52 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, another Roberts would be an improvement over Ginsburg or Stevens. So would Harriet Miers.

Heck, so would Miss Beasely.
Posted by: Jackal || 11/15/2006 11:14 Comments || Top||

#7  lol!
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 11:14 Comments || Top||

#8  Jackal's on a roll, again, lol.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 11:19 Comments || Top||

#9  And in case anyone’s wondering, yes, Mr. Schumer is entirely comfortable with this sort of power. With his Gold Toe–stockinged feet dangling, the 55-year-old slumped in his armchair on Friday morning as if it were a leather throne

Power by law he shouldn't have but by politics he wields.

This is a sad little man. Bush should appoint judges and Schumar should allow votes; it's in what is left of the constitution.

God save us from the left.
Posted by: badanov || 11/15/2006 11:34 Comments || Top||

#10  I've said it before, Chucky Schumer does more to advance the cause of antisemitism in America than any Islamonazi in a mosque gathering in a month of Fridays.
Well I haven't said exactly that before, but you know what I mean.
And, while we're at it, Alito is such a horrible man, isn't he ? WTF ?
Posted by: wxjames || 11/15/2006 12:07 Comments || Top||


John Murtha and Congress's "culture of corruption."
House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's endorsement of Rep. John Murtha for majority leader, the No. 2 position in the Democratic leaderhsip, has roiled her caucus. "She will ensure that they [Mr. Murtha and his allies] win. This is hardball politics," Rep. Jim Moran, a top Murtha ally, told the Hill, a congressional newspaper. "We are entering an era where when the speaker instructs you what to do, you do it."

But several members are privately aghast that Mr. Murtha, a pork-barreling opponent of most House ethics reforms, could become the second most visible symbol of the new Democratic rule. "We are supposed to change business as usual, not put the fox in charge of the henhouse," one Democratic member told me. "It's not just the Abscam scandal of the 1980s that he barely dodged, he's a disaster waiting to happen because of his current behavior," another told me.

As for Abscam, a recent book by George Crile, a producer for CBS's "60 Minutes," provides damning evidence that Mr. Murtha escaped severe punishment for his role in the scandal only because then-Speaker Tip O'Neill arranged for the House Ethics Committee to drop the charges, over the objections of the committee's outside prosecutor. The prosecutor quickly resigned in protest.

Outside observers are equally aghast that Mr. Murtha could win tomorrow's election. Thomas Mann, a Brookings Institution scholar who is co-author of "The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track," told the Los Angeles Times that "John Murtha is not the right poster child" for a Democratic House that says it wants to sweep away corruption.

Melanie Sloan, the liberal head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was cheered on by Democrats six weeks ago when she helped reveal the Mark Foley scandal. Now she says that "Ms. Pelosi"s endorsement of Rep. Murtha, one of the most unethical members of Congress, show that she may have prioritized ethics reform merely to win votes with no real commitment to changing the culture of corruption."
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 07:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We are entering an era where when the speaker instructs you what to do, you do it."

Shades of Sam Rayburn and LBJ and the Olde Style Donk Political Machine... All Hail Empress Pelosi! Just think, she's there because of one teensy tiny Congressional District...
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Both parties reverted or are reverting to form. The Republicans went 'country club', and paid for it. The Dems are going back to the old days of cronyism and scratch-your-back politics. 1960s all over again.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/15/2006 9:49 Comments || Top||

#3  "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."
-- Sam Clemens
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:49 Comments || Top||

#4  If it was worth saying, Mark Twain said it.
Posted by: Weird Al || 11/15/2006 19:31 Comments || Top||


Kerry as Lost Puppy
The Loonie Lineup - and the Left-Behind. *sniff*
Former U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry (background L) watches on as incoming U.S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (C)(D-NV) walks alongside his party colleagues on Capitol Hill November 14, 2006. Reid, a moderate Nevada Democrat, was elected by colleagues on Tuesday as U.S. Senate majority leader for the 110th Congress that will convene in January. The other top positions are (2ndL-R) Vice Chair of the Conference Charles Schumer (D-NY), Secretary of the Conference Patty Murray (D-WA) and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Definitely a keeper. For reasons I'm unsure of, putting the Yahoo source URL in the box seems to cause this post to fail. So I left it blank.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 01:47 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is the source URL.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 1:50 Comments || Top||

#2  DEspite the Dems' 2006 elex wins, I still hold that HILLARY per se will NOT run for POTUS unless the WOT is either over or mostly resolved in America's favor. At best, will run as VPOTUS/VEEP; at worst stay a NY SENATOR to which the MSM has already hinted or implied. CONVERSELY, this means that MALE DEM POLS like KERRY, etal. still have utility btwn 2008-2012. THE BLAMELESS LEFT = BLAMELESS CLINTONS + NO LINKAGE TO ANY KIND OF US-SPECIFIC SETBACK, FAILURE, DEFEAT, OR CATASTROPHE, espec iff Amer is to desired to be under anti-US OWG + anti-US National-Global SOCIALISM circa Year 2015-2020 by the Left's own minima-maxima timeline. Where BLAMELESS/POTUS HILLARY is concerned, this means KERRY and all other MALE GOP-DEM POLS are the ones to "assume the burden/pole position" of PC blame. THE KEY FOR HILLARY IS HOW DUBYA WILL MILPOL HANDLE RADICAL IRAN = NORTH KOREA-TAIWAN btwn now and EOY 2007, espec now that the Radics believe the USA is on the run after the Dems' wins, or soon will be. POST-ELEX MAINSTREAM AMERICA SUPPORS PRE-EMPTION, NOT RETREAT-ISOLATIONISM, NOT CUT-AND-RUN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 2:11 Comments || Top||

#3  He looks as clueless as usual back there while the important people pass him by.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 11/15/2006 2:39 Comments || Top||

#4  poor John F'n Kerry
[wot a very precious pose eh!]

Patti "Osama Mama" Murray
Osama bin Laden is popular in the Muslim world because:
"He’s been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. He’s made their lives better".

OLYMPIA January 21, 2006--
Sen. Patty Murray
said Friday that returning contributions from Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff would "taint" the tribes.
The state's senior senator, a Seattle Democrat, said there was nothing wrong with accepting more than $40,000 in campaign donations from out-of-state tribes represented by the disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff's excesses have been halted, and Congress is considering myriad ethics reforms, she said.

Turbin Durbin
YouTube, Dickie Durbin Compares U.S. Troops to Nazi's, Soviets, & Pol Pot

these assholes are going to be fun to watch.
Posted by: RD || 11/15/2006 2:39 Comments || Top||

#5  And the funny part is that they are going to do all the work. We just have to sit back and laugh.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 11/15/2006 7:13 Comments || Top||

#6  God help us all. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington are all rolling over in their graves.
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 7:42 Comments || Top||

#7  No they're not going to be fun to watch since the media will cover for them and we won't see their crap.
Posted by: Spot || 11/15/2006 8:37 Comments || Top||

#8  Hey John Kerry, why the long face?

Because somebody had to say it.
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/15/2006 10:19 Comments || Top||

#9  Lost puppu and conspiracy of nitwits.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/15/2006 13:14 Comments || Top||


Murtha decries 'swift boat-style' attacks on ethics - by fellow DhimmiDonks
Rep. John Murtha, the anti-war congressman who is the likely new House speaker's pick for majority leader, fended off what he called "swift boat-style attacks" on his ethics record Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania Democrat also blasted his rival for majority leader, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, for siding with President Bush on Iraq.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who as the House Democratic leader is in line to be the next speaker, has backed Murtha against Hoyer, who is currently the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives.

Democrats are slated to vote Thursday on who will take the chamber's leadership posts when the Congress reconvenes in January. Hoyer insists he has commitments from a majority of the caucus. He picked up the public endorsement of a bloc of moderate Democrats on Tuesday.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "If anyone felt like there was anything there, he would have been indicted a long time ago," he said.

So is Karl Rove off the hook for the lame/plame/blame/game?
Posted by: Bobby || 11/15/2006 6:33 Comments || Top||

#2  So he means people accurately calling him out on his lying and covering things up in what he thought was the long-forgotten past? Yep, that would be swift-boating.
Posted by: Jackal || 11/15/2006 11:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Hey! I'm not corrupt! I'm "ethically challenged"!
Even the watchdog chick says so.
Posted by: Murtha || 11/15/2006 11:27 Comments || Top||

#4  I don't get it. Is Murtha complaining about attacks on his ethics or his attacks on the whole idea of ethics?
Posted by: SteveS || 11/15/2006 15:40 Comments || Top||


Boxer plans Senate hearings on global warming
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the infighting begins. Hopefully the donks will focus their attention on global warming and leave the safety of this democracy to the minority.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 11/15/2006 12:16 Comments || Top||


Republican Party's Martinez: won't be "attack dog"
Sen. Mel Martinez, who will become the new general chairman of the Republican Party after it lost control of Congress, said on Tuesday he would not be an "attack dog" in the 2008 White House race.
That's too bad. Howard Dean will be.
President Bush gave Martinez his blessing at a meeting in the Oval Office, calling the Cuban-born senator an American success story. "He's going to be an excellent spokesman for the Republican Party," Bush said. "He'll be a person who'll be able to carry our message as we go into an important year in 2008." Martinez will keep his U.S. Senate seat representing Florida and be the voice of the Republican Party going into the presidential election campaign season.
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, someone has to take point!
Posted by: badanov || 11/15/2006 0:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Harriet Myers all over again. Frinken pantywaist for an RNC chair - who has already announced that the press will be able to walk all over the Repubs in 08. Thanks for NOTHING George!

Steele is the man for this job - and it should be a FULL TIME position, not part time for a Senator.

Call your Repub state party chair and tell them vote NO or they will never see you for a volunteer nor for fund raising.

President Bush, with all due respect sir, you are being an IDOIT with this. Its seen as more political insider backscratching, at the expense of the future of the Party.

Keep this sh*t up and I will go fully to the Libertarians.
Posted by: OldSpook || 11/15/2006 1:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Bush just installed the Republican Terry McAuliffe.

We all remember how well he did, right...
Posted by: JSU || 11/15/2006 3:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Between Martinez's support for amnesty for illegals, and Lott's support of pork, it's clear the GOP has learned absolutely nothing. I guess they can write-off '08 as well.
Posted by: DMFD || 11/15/2006 18:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Like Limbuagh said, I'm not carrying the water for them anymore.

This appointment, and Lott on top of it was a huge error, as were the hurried leadership elections in the House.

Stupid cronyism and old-boy politics. Its what got us into this corner, and yet the idiots at the top still persists. That includes the President in this case.
Posted by: OldSpook || 11/15/2006 22:48 Comments || Top||


Rangel: 'I sincerely apologize' for Mississippi remark
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "...I'll never do it again, and next time I'll say it where there aren't any furshlugginer reporters around..."

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/15/2006 9:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Who the hell wants to live in Harlem, Charlie?
Posted by: mojo || 11/15/2006 10:33 Comments || Top||

#3  It wasn't a very politically astute comment by old Charlie, but you know, he's not far wrong. And ditto for Lousiana (my home, sweet home).
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/15/2006 18:54 Comments || Top||


Abramoff may offer testimony on Dhimmi senators
Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is scheduled to report to federal prison tomorrow, over the objections of federal prosecutors who say they still need his help to pursue leads on officials he allegedly bribed. Sources close to the investigation say Abramoff has provided information on his dealings with and campaign contributions and gifts to "dozens of members of Congress and staff," including what Abramoff has reportedly described as "six to eight seriously corrupt Democratic senators."

The sources say Abramoff was about to provide information about Bush administration officials, including Karl Rove, "accepting things of value" from Abramoff. Rove has denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Abramoff. But the lobbyist visited the White House at least seven times, according to Secret Service logs obtained by Judicial Watch.

Abramoff has been meeting almost daily in secret locations around Washington with Justice Department investigators who are examining thousands of e-mails and documents, according to sources close to the investigation. The convicted lobbyist was spotted in downtown Washington, D.C., yesterday, carrying a computer laptop case.

But the prosecutors' easy access to Abramoff has now ended. After granting several delays, the federal judge in Florida, who sentenced Abramoff to six years for fraud in a casino boat gambling scheme, has ordered him to report to prison tomorrow.

ABC News has learned that the court has granted a request from prosecutors that Abramoff be incarcerated at the closest prison to Washington, D.C., the Federal Correction Institute in Cumberland, Md., where Abramoff is expected to report tomorrow.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sauce for the Goose. And if Bush was truly stupid enough to tar himself with this,then he should shut the hell up and hide until 2008 - then slink away.

He had a hell of a lot of good will, enthusiasm and backing, and pissed it all away. I hated his old man for not letting us finish things in Iraq, and breaking his promise on taxes. Now Im beginning to get the same sinking feeling about the son.

I hope to God I am wrong.
Posted by: OldSpook || 11/15/2006 1:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Old Spook:

I wouldn't be too pessimistic. US troop levels are being kept at high levels in Iraq and operations are focused against Shiite elements. Multi-Carrier groups are off the Strait of Hormuz. Some groups are trained for close operations with Rapid Deployment troops. And their is bi-partisanship on neutralizing the Iran threat.
Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 || 11/15/2006 1:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Ummmmmmmmmm...that's okay. We've ended The Culture of Corruption. Nothing to see here. The "time for healing" has begun. Can't we just "move on"? "Bipartisanship"! That's the ticket!
Posted by: Nancy and Harry || 11/15/2006 10:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Lol... Look, there's something shiny over there!
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Hey, Harry. Your real estate guy's on the phone...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/15/2006 10:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Lol, when that story "broke" we had to put up with a bunch of it here in Sin City. The reporter would softball him and he would still stumble and stammer, lol. Couldn't even work up a good spittle, though he was trying. My friend noted that if he couldn't generate a solid case of moral outrage and indignation, then he should stick to legal shit, lol. She's right - he's not up to pulling off real thievery.

Here's your milquetoast folks, lol.
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:59 Comments || Top||

#7  including what Abramoff has reportedly described as "six to eight seriously corrupt Democratic senators."

Let's see. Murtha, Reid, umm... Schumer, Byrd, Waxman .... Feinstein? I know the first two, I'm just guessing on the rest. Patty Murray have anything to do with Indian Reservations?

Funny how the MSM kept this quiet before the election. If Abramhoff hadn't told us himself, we'd have never known as our federal prosecutors buried the info.

Old Spook - Consider the source:

"The sources say Abramoff was about to provide information about Bush administration officials, including Karl Rove, "accepting things of value"

just another unsubstantiated MSM lie to deflect attention from what is going to be interesting testimony.
Posted by: anon || 11/15/2006 11:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Old Spook, I think your instincts are right. I think is't over for Dubya. With Baker and Gates coming in, it's like old dad is sending in his cronies to clean up what they percieve to be the mess he has made in the Country Club. I don't believe there will be any stopping Iran either.
Posted by: Sgt. D.T. || 11/15/2006 17:55 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Perv Gambles Again: Rape Law Now Criminal, Not Sharia
Pakistan's lower house of parliament voted on Wednesday to put the crime of rape under the civil penal code, curtailing the scope of Islamic laws that rights groups have long criticized as unfair to women.

The Women's Protection Bill was seen as a barometer of President Pervez Musharraf's commitment to his vision of "enlightened moderation" and a major battle in a struggle between progressive forces and religious conservatives over the Muslim nation's course.

"It is a historic bill because it will give rights to women and help end excesses against them," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the assembly after the vote.

The Islamic laws, known as the Hudood Ordinances, were introduced by a military ruler, President Zia-ul-Haq, in 1979. They made a rape victim liable to prosecution for adultery if she could not produce four male witnesses to the assault.

The main amendment approved on Wednesday takes rape out of the sphere of the religious law and puts it under the penal code.

That does away with the requirement for four male witnesses and will allow convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence.

The amendment bill must be approved by the upper house of parliament before it becomes law.

Human rights campaigners have long pressed for total repeal of the Islamic laws, but have nevertheless welcomed moves to amend them.
This is cutthroat politics at its best in Pakland. When the Islamists lose, they will also lose face, power, and votes.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/15/2006 11:07 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll await the first successful prosecution and conviction before ululating, but it does sound like an overdue step in the right direction.
Posted by: Dar || 11/15/2006 15:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Except that the Pakistani legal system is very good at ignoring laws it doesn't feel like enforcing. It'll be a nice stick to beat political opponents with, though.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/15/2006 22:48 Comments || Top||


Consenting sex to be made offence under Pakistan Penal Code
Govt caves in to mullahs
We never doubted they would. Not one moment.
The government has proposed amendments in the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill to declare “lewdness”, defined as wilful sexual intercourse, a punishable offence under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The proposed new Section 496B in Clause 7 of the PPC says: “A man and a woman not married to each other are said to commit lewdness if they wilfully have sexual intercourse with one another.” The government is expected to table the bill in the National Assembly today, and pass it by tomorrow. The proposed amendment provides for a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rs 10,000. The amendments will be incorporated in the bill as approved by a parliamentary select committee.

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) had insisted that zina-bil-raza (consenting sex) be retained as a criminal offence, even if its implementation resulted in rape victims being punished for failing to prove that sexual intercourse was forced upon them. The select committee report had stated that as long as women ran a risk of being punished for zina (adultery), they hesitated to report cases of zina-bil-jabr (rape), and countless rapes were not reported for fear that the victim would end up being punished rather than the perpetrator.

However, the government claims to have built “firewalls” into the bill, which will legislate that a victim of rape complaining to the court will not be punishable for any offence in case she fails to prove her case. She would be prosecuted only if the complaint is made before a magistrate. It would also be a bailable offence in which the police have no role.

Another proposed amendment states that a complainant alleging lewdness would be immediately punished for qazf by the trial court if he or she failed to prove the allegation. “Whoever brings or levels or gives evidence of false charge of lewdness against any person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding Rs 10,000,” according to the proposed Section 496C of the PPC.
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No boinking allowed!!! Does anyone wonder why these assholes strap on bomb belts to go get some imaginary whoopee in the hereafter?
Posted by: Zenster || 11/15/2006 3:21 Comments || Top||

#2  But non-consenting sex is pretty much OK, at least for the man.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/15/2006 7:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Damn, Glenmore beat me to it!
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/15/2006 7:58 Comments || Top||

#4  The select committee report had stated that as long as women ran a risk of being punished for zina (adultery), they hesitated to report cases of zina-bil-jabr (rape)

I assume "bil-jabr" is Jawa for "no means harder".
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/15/2006 10:16 Comments || Top||


Hasba Bill sets base for future mullah rule: HRCP
The Hasba Bill allows the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in the NWFP to put in place a powerful network that will aid the religious parties’ alliance in future elections, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan warned in a press release on Tuesday. The HRCP believes the bill “has nothing to do with Islam”, and “amounts to a clever manoeuvre to create grassroots networks of mullahs” that could help the MMA win future elections in the NWFP.

“The network of mohtasibs (ombudsmen), to be set up from the tehsil to the provincial level, will create a strong foundation upon which the MMA can confidently base its future political success. The conditions laid down for mohtasibs, who will have a ‘Hasba’ force to back them, states that only persons holding certification from a institute of religious learning can hold the office. This means that women and non-Muslim citizens are excluded,” it stated.

The bill also states that one of the purposes behind it is to eliminate ‘un-Islamic practices’. “This raises fears as to precisely what activities may be defined as such by the mullahs, whose powers will expand under the law. It must also be noted that while the current bill simply puts a mechanism in place, the provisions can in the future be expanded to cover many spheres of life,” the commission said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This racket has everything to do with Islam. If jihad storm troopers can intimidate opponents, then conditions of dictatorship exist. Mullahs claim that their monopoly of power is sanctioned by the Koran. Iran operates on the same principle. Lately, Sunnis have been following Shiite governance principles.
Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 || 11/15/2006 2:04 Comments || Top||

#2  So they are saying that you cannot be an effective political party in wakiland without an army of murderers?

Very progressive.
Maybe we can divert some of the money from that mexican barrier wall to isolate the ME from the rest of the world.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 11/15/2006 7:17 Comments || Top||


Two eyewitnesses needed to prove 'lewdness'
New amendments in the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill proposed by the government provide that proving the offence of “lewdness”, defined as wilful sexual intercourse, would require two eyewitnesses to the act, and the offence would be tried by a first class magistrate.

“The presiding officer of a court taking cognisance of an offence shall at once examine on oath the complainant and at least two eyewitnesses to the act of lewdness,” the proposed amendments say.

The findings of the examination will be put in black and signed by the complainant and the eyewitnesses, and if in the opinion of the presiding officer there is sufficient ground for proceeding, he will summon the accused for personal hearing.

In case the presiding officer of a court, after considering the statements on oath of the witnesses and the complainant, finds no ground for proceeding, he will record his reasons for doing so.
Posted by: Fred || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ick.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/15/2006 6:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Just keeps them up at night, doesn't it?
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 11/15/2006 7:18 Comments || Top||

#3  That would be two males, right? How many females are required?
Posted by: Jackal || 11/15/2006 11:17 Comments || Top||


Pakistan hangs two murderers
Not two that we really care about but perhaps this will become a habit ...
MULTAN, Pakistan - Two Pakistanis convicted of separate murders were hanged Tuesday after President Pervez Musharraf turned down their pleas for clemency, jail officials said.

The pair were both executed before dawn at the same jail in Faisalabad, a city in the central province of Punjab, jail superintendent Yusuf Ghauri told AFP. Mohammad Farooq, 45, was sentenced to death for killing his nephew over a property dispute in 1999, Ghauri said. Shah Nawaz was condemned to die for killing a man and his son during a robbery in Faisalabad district in 1992, the official added.

The execution orders were implemented after Musharraf rejected their mercy petitions, Ghauri said.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/15/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pakistan hangs two murderers

Only 35 million to go
Posted by: MacNails || 11/15/2006 5:22 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Mega-Tsunami hit the morning of May 10, 2807 B.C
Posted by: phil_b || 11/15/2006 18:53 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That would be about 200+ years before the great pyramid of Giza was built.
Posted by: DanNY || 11/15/2006 20:58 Comments || Top||

#2  EGYPT > becuz Archaeos are allegedly still finding pyramids buried under massive sand dunes, conspiracy theorists are claiming is evidencia that ancient Egyptians/Atlanteans? wilfully diverted Nilean waterflows both to help construct = hide the Pyramid tombs of the Divine Pharoahs. IOW, THE SAND DUNES OF EGYPT + LARGE PARTS OF NORTH AFRICA MAY HAVE CAUSES OTHER THAN MOTHER NATURE = GEOLOGIC FORCES, OR THE EXODUS???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/15/2006 21:47 Comments || Top||

#3  More on tsunamis in Western Australia reaching up 60 kilometers inland.

And people are worried about sea levels rising a few centimeters.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/15/2006 23:09 Comments || Top||


Olde Tyme Religion
Turkey: Pope has nothing to fear during visit, says top Islamic official
EFL

Turin, 15 Nov. (AKI) - Turkey's top Muslim official who recently demanded an apology from Pope Benedict XVI for remarks the head of the Catholic Church made on Islam, believes the pontiff's safety won't be at risk during the papal visit to Turkey which begins on 28 November. "We are a democratic state and there's freedom: that's why some people don't approve of this visit and they say so. But this won't detract from our traditional hospitality," said Ali Bardakoglu head of the state department for religious affairs, the Diyanet (Mercy).

"This trip [the pope's to Turkey] won't resolve all the problems but it is a good step on the path to dialogue. Peace can be destroyed in an istant but it takes a long process to rebuild it," Bardakoglu was quoted as saying in an interview published Wednesday in the Turin-based daily La Stampa.

The Turkish cleric was among Benedict's most vocal critics after the pope on 12 September in a speech at a university in Regensburg, Germany appeared to suggest that the Islamic belief in jihad or holy war ran against the will of God and that Islam is at odds with the concept of rationality.

The Pope subsequently said his remarks were misinterpreted, but did not offer an apology as demanded by Bardakglu and other prominent Islamic clerics.

Asked if he would again ask for Benedict's apology, Bardakoglu replied: "I don't waste time speaking about the past. It's not important whether the person who says something unacceptable on Islam is a layman, a religious figure or an important person - it is one's duty to correct him."

In the interview, Bardakoglu - who will be meeting Benedict XVI in Ankara - denied that Islam is irrational and described the meaning of jihad as "mainly an individual internal struggle agains the evil tendencies of human nature."

And the Grand Mufti went on to declare that the Koran rejected terrorism and that Islam is a religion of peace and love.

On Tuesday the Vatican's ambassador to Turkey, Apostolic Nuncio, Antonio Lucibello, said "we trust the sincerity of Turkish authorities," after meeting Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas.

"we trust the sincerity of Turkish authorities," Ouch. In the La Stampa interview, the Mufti's answer to the question of Islam's engagement with reason was carefully worded. Pope Benedict struck a sensitive nerve, there.
Posted by: mrp || 11/15/2006 08:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/15/2006 10:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey, lighten up guys. How often has some Turkish guy shot a pope? Besides that other time, I mean.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/15/2006 10:16 Comments || Top||

#3  *snort*

Coffee Alert!
Posted by: .com || 11/15/2006 10:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Bardakoglu went on to say "We're from the government and we're here to help, the check is in the mail, and of course, you can't get pregnant that way."
Posted by: Jonathan || 11/15/2006 12:08 Comments || Top||

#5  It's not important whether the person who says something unacceptable on Islam is a layman, a religious figure or an important person - it is one's duty to correct him."

No, it isn't.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/15/2006 12:22 Comments || Top||

#6  "...it is one's duty to correct him."
Sounds like the caretaker dude from The Shining, and I'm sure that's exactly how he meant it.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/15/2006 12:52 Comments || Top||

#7  He correctly states the Pope's statement to be "unacceptable" rather than "incorrect".
Posted by: Shuns Uleating3851 || 11/15/2006 13:24 Comments || Top||

#8  Ah, yes, "Welcome to my web" said the spider to the fly.
Posted by: BA || 11/15/2006 14:34 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2006-11-15
  Nasrallah vows campaign to force gov't change
Tue 2006-11-14
  Khost capture was Zawahiri deputy?
Mon 2006-11-13
  Palestinians agree on nonentity as PM
Sun 2006-11-12
  Five Shia ministers resign from Lebanese cabinet
Sat 2006-11-11
  Haniyeh offers to resign for aid
Fri 2006-11-10
  US Rejects UN Resolutions on Gaza Violence as One-Sided
Thu 2006-11-09
  Indon Muslims on trial over beheading young girls
Wed 2006-11-08
  Israeli Forces Pull Out of Beit Hanoun
Tue 2006-11-07
  Al Qaeda terrorist captured in Afghanistan
Mon 2006-11-06
  Pakistani AF officers tried to kill Perv
Sun 2006-11-05
  Saddam Sentenced to Death
Sat 2006-11-04
  More Military Humor Aimed at Kerry
Fri 2006-11-03
  Turkey: Muslim vows to 'strangle' Pope
Thu 2006-11-02
  US force storms Allawi's Home
Wed 2006-11-01
  NYC Judge Refuses to Toss Terror Charges Against Four

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